Shame?

My laugh was hollow. "You kicked me out, remember?" My voice wavered, but I held his gaze. "You even said the Crawford Family only has one daughter—Ava. So why should I care?"

Cassius' sneer cut through me like a blade. "You brought this on yourself. Ava's sick and you still celebrated your birthday? You did it to upset her, didn't you?"

The words didn't hurt anymore. Not after what I had just seen.

Then came the final blow.

"The hospital just confirmed—you can donate a kidney to Ava. Consider yourself lucky."

My heart plummeted.

Troy's video flashed in my mind—the whispered voices, the calculated cruelty. I had prayed, I had cried, I had told myself over and over that they just lost their memories. That there had to be an explanation.

But the truth had come first. And it was merciless.

Cassius yanked my arm roughly and dragged me toward the door.

A sharp, twisting pain bloomed in my stomach, making my vision blur for a moment. I swayed on my feet, my fingers instinctively pressing against my abdomen.

"Cassius!" My voice trembled, but I forced the words out. "I'm pregnant! I can't donate a kidney—it's dangerous for me and the baby!"

The room plunged into an eerie silence, the air turning ice-cold.

Then, with ruthless indifference, Cassius shoved me backward. My body hit the ground hard and the sharp edge of the table caught my forehead on the way down. Pain exploded through my skull and warm blood trickled into my eyes, turning my world red.

Cassius didn't even look at me.

"Pregnant?" His voice was laced with contempt. "Who knows which man it belongs to? Weren't you just fooling around with Troy?"

I clutched my throbbing head, my pulse roaring in my ears.

"It's just a bastard child," he continued coldly. "If it's gone, it's gone. Donating a kidney won't kill you."

I stared at him, my breath catching.

"Think of it this way—your kid's taking on Ava's suffering. That's its purpose."

My blood ran cold.

The man who once panicked when I so much as cut my finger with a fruit knife was now speaking about my life—and my child's—as if they were nothing more than disposable objects.

The weight of his words crushed me. Ava's arrival had stripped me of everything—my home, my family, my love.

A bitter laugh tore from my lips. Cassius looked away, his gaze distant, detached.

"Cassius," I whispered, tasting iron on my tongue. "Are you sure you won't regret this?"

For a fraction of a second, something in his expression cracked. But just as quickly, he crushed it beneath a sneer.

"Regret?" His lips curled cruelly. "Sienna, don't flatter yourself."

With a flick of his wrist, the bodyguards lunged forward. A dozen hands grabbed me, shoving me onto the cold operating table. I thrashed, my limbs burning with resistance, but their grip was unyielding.

Then I saw them. My parents.

Their familiar figures emerged from the hallway, their faces twisted with frustration—not concern. Not worry. Just disappointment. For me, for their own daughter.

A stinging slap cracked against my cheek, jerking my head to the side.

"How could you be so heartless?!" My mother's voice trembled with rage. "It's just a kidney donation and you won't even agree to that?"

My father's gaze bore into me with icy detachment. "How did we end up with such a selfish daughter?"

Something inside me fractured. I stopped struggling.

Slowly, I turned my head to face them, blood seeping into my lashes. My voice was calm, eerily detached.

"Didn't you already sever ties with me?" I asked quietly.

Their expressions stiffened.

I tilted my head, watching them, unblinking. "What? Now that you need to save your precious adopted daughter, you suddenly remember me?"

A flicker of hesitation passed over my mother's face. She froze, caught in my words.

But my father quickly yanked her sleeve, grounding her back in reality.

Anger flared in her eyes and in the next instant, she grabbed the anesthetic syringe from the doctor's tray.

"You ungrateful child!" she spat, jabbing the needle into my arm without hesitation.

Pain lanced through me, but I barely felt it. The numbness spread fast, creeping from my arm to my fingertips, then my legs.

My tongue felt heavy. I wanted to speak—to ask them one final question.

Who was their real child?

But before the words could leave my lips, the door burst open.

A nurse rushed in.

"Miss Ava is terrified and won't stop crying. Perhaps—"

Before the nurse could finish her sentence, my parents had already rushed off to Ava's ward without hesitation.

I didn't know when it began, but my parents gradually devoted more and more attention to Ava until my presence became nothing more than an afterthought. She would sit on the couch with my mother, watching TV and whispering about trivial things while I sat alone in my room. She would go fishing and play golf with my father, laughing in a way he never did with me.

My parents used to bring back my favorite desserts when they returned from work, but now, all I received were cold leftovers and empty pleasantries. The so-called debt of gratitude had twisted into something unrecognizable.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips. "Cassius, let's break off our engagement."

His head snapped toward me, disbelief flashing across his face. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

If I hadn't already seen the truth with my own eyes, I might have mistaken his reaction for genuine shock—perhaps even concern. But I knew better.

"You don't even want our baby. What's the point of this engagement? Consider this break off my blessing to you and Ava." I closed my eyes, pressing a trembling hand against my stomach.

Cassius let out a short, humorless laugh. "Don't think I don't see through you—you just want an excuse to be with Troy, don't you?"

His hands were clenched into tight fists, barely restraining his anger. My chest ached, but I refused to let myself crumble in front of him.

When we first got engaged, he had been ecstatic, treating me like the most precious thing in the world. When he tossed our engagement ring to a beggar on the street, faking amnesia, I never considered ending things. But now, it was painfully clear—it had all been a cruel joke from the start.

He took a step closer, his gaze piercing through me. "Sienna, you and Troy—"

"Cassius! Why are you still here? Shouldn't you be with Ava?"

My older brother's voice cut through the air, sharp and impatient. He strode into the room, his eyes barely sparing me a glance before settling on Cassius. His expression darkened as his gaze flickered to my pale face.

"Sienna, you should be grateful. Donating your kidney to Ava will finally make you two real sisters," Michael, my brother, said, his tone condescending.

A bitter taste coated my tongue. "Real sisters?" I whispered, more to myself than to him.

Michael's expression twisted with irritation at my silence. With a scoff, he grabbed Cassius's wrist and turned to leave. "What did I do to deserve a sister like you? You're disgusting."

I stared blankly at his retreating figure. The words echoed in my head, clashing against a memory from years ago—his voice, warm and gentle, saying, "I have such a lovely sister. I'll protect you for the rest of my life."

Now, those same lips uttered nothing but contempt. The ache in my chest deepened, spreading like an infection through my veins.

When Ava first arrived, Michael seemed to hate her even more than I did. He had thrown her luggage out when our parents weren't home, tricked her into wandering the mountains alone and made her walk all night to find her way back. He had been scolded harshly for it, punished by our parents.

"I don't hate you. I'm just protecting Sienna. I have no choice but to bully you."

It was late one night when I overheard my brother speaking to Ava. I had only gotten up for a glass of water, but the sound of hushed voices from the dimly lit hallway made me stop in my tracks.

Michael's tone was casual, almost indifferent. Ava, on the other hand, stood with quiet grace, her posture composed. Then, without warning, she leaned in close and whispered something in his ear.

Her voice was soft, almost tender, but I still heard it.

"I won't compete with Sienna, because I like you. I will cherish everything you love."

A chill ran down my spine. It was the first time I had ever felt disgust toward Ava.

But before I could even process that feeling, the world turned against me.

The very next day, Ava drank almond milk and suffered a severe allergic reaction, one so extreme that she nearly lost her life. I had no idea where the milk had come from. I didn't even know Ava had an allergy that severe. And yet, when my brother turned to me, his eyes burned with unmistakable resentment.

Michael didn't ask. He didn't hesitate. He simply looked at me as if I were a stranger and condemned me without a second thought.

Our parents demanded answers, but instead of speaking up, he took the blame upon himself. The injustice of it all was suffocating.

"Sienna, you already have everything. Why do you still have to be so petty with an orphan?" my father scoffed, his voice filled with disappointment.

"You've been completely spoiled."

The words cut deeper than they should have

As fragmented memories surged through my mind, my consciousness wavered. The sedative took effect, dragging me into darkness. Just before I lost myself completely, a familiar voice echoed in my head.

Troy.

"You'll come begging me for help."

***

I woke up to the sound of urgent voices outside my hospital room. The moment I opened my eyes, a sharp, searing pain shot through my waist and stomach, forcing a cry from my lips. My entire body felt weak.

Outside the door, I could hear Ava's soft voice. "Sienna's always been so kind to me. I must go see her."

"What's there to see?" My mother's voice was firm. "You're still too weak. Wait until she wakes up—we'll have her come to you instead."

"Exactly! You need to rest yourself," my father chimed in. "Hurry back to bed!"

Listening to their gentle attempts to dissuade Ava, I felt something inside me twist. A dull ache spread through my chest, suffocating and heavy.

The door creaked open. My body moved before I could think. I grabbed the vase on my bedside table and with all the strength I could muster, hurled it toward the entrance.

The crash was deafening.

Shards of porcelain exploded across the floor. Michael moved instinctively, shielding Ava with his body. Droplets of water seeped into his shirt, darkening the fabric.

"Sienna, are you out of your damn mind?!" His voice lashed out like a whip. "Ava came to see you and this is how you treat her?!"

My mother's disapproving voice followed. "How did we end up with a daughter like you?"

"Sienna," my father said, shaking his head in disappointment, "you've changed into something so vile, it makes me sick."

From the doorway, Cassius remained silent. He didn't scold me like the others. But the impatience in his eyes was enough to say everything he was thinking.

"Sis, don't be mad at Mom and Dad. It's my fault for being so weak... If you need to blame someone, blame me."

Ava's voice was filled with just the right amount of trembling to sound pitiful, yet steady enough to ensure everyone in the room could hear.

Before I could respond, she suddenly slipped from her wheelchair, her frail body crumpling onto the hospital floor. Gasps filled the air as she landed on her knees. Her long hair tumbled over her shoulders, framing her pale, tear-streaked face as she bit her lip in pain.

"Ava!" My mother rushed forward, panic lacing her voice. My father followed suit.

Michael, however, did not move toward her. Instead, he turned to me, his eyes burning with fury. Without hesitation, he stormed toward my bed and yanked me up with such force that blinding pain exploded in my abdomen.

A strangled cry escaped my lips as fresh blood seeped through my hospital gown. The wound from my surgery tore open.

Michael's grip froze. His breathing hitched as if he hadn't expected this outcome. For a brief moment, the entire room fell into stunned silence.

Then Ava whimpered, her voice barely above a whisper. "It... hurts..."

That single phrase shattered whatever hesitation remained.

"Sienna, apologize to Ava. Now!" My mother's sharp voice cut through the air.

Apologize?

I felt my blood boil. My fingers curled into fists, shaking from my suppressed rage.

With every ounce of strength I had left, I raised my trembling hand and swung it across Michael's face. The slap rang through the room.

"Why the hell should I apologize?! My voice was hoarse with anger. "I lost my child! I gave her my kidney! What more do you want?!"

"You all deserve to die! I hate you! I will never forgive you for as long as I live!"

My body trembled with anger. The pain in my abdomen pulsed violently, but I refused to show weakness.

Michael's grip on my wrist faltered slightly. Then, a firm hand landed on his shoulder.

"She's too emotional right now," Cassius said coldly. "Let her cool off."

I turned sharply, my gaze locking onto him. Cassius stood there, his expression unreadable. But there was something in his eyes—something I couldn't quite place.

Before I could utter a single word, a sharp sting pricked my arm. A cold numbness spread through my body, the strength draining from my limbs.

Someone had injected me with a sedative.

My vision blurred and my voice—my fury—was stolen from me. My head lolled to the side, but my gaze remained fixed on Cassius.

For the first time, something in his expression shifted. His lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something. But then his eyes flickered toward Ava.

Cassius hesitated.

Then, as if making a silent decision, he turned away and walked out without another word.

***

I didn't know how much time passed before a deep, familiar voice broke through the fog in my mind.

"Do you need help, Sienna?"